‘I will bring police and public together’

Neeraj Kumar, a 1976-batch officer, took over as the Delhi Police commissioner from his predecessor Brijesh Kumar Gupta on Saturday. Known for his meticulous investigative skills and knack for anti-terror operations, commissioner Kumar held a press conference at his new office on Saturday. Excerpts from the interview:

Neeraj Kumar, a 1976-batch officer, took over as the Delhi Police commissioner from his predecessor Brijesh Kumar Gupta on Saturday. Known for his meticulous investigative skills and knack for anti-terror operations, commissioner Kumar held a press conference at his new office on Saturday. Excerpts from the interview:

What will be the one initiative that you'd want to be implemented now that you have taken charge?To minimise the gap between the public and the police, especially an average complainant and the investigating officer (IO). My experience in the force, since I joined it as a probationer, has taught me that there is little interaction between an average citizen and the police after registration of a case — something that needs to change. The complainant has the right to know about every development — no matter how big or small, being conducted by the IO during the investigation of his/her case.

Given your vast experience in Delhi police's anti-terror wing, the Special Cell, how important a task or an objective is cracking down on terrorism?Terror will continue to be a major challenge and cracking down on it will be one of my priorities. One of the first things I plan to do is to take stock of the cases being investigated, suspects being tracked and the overall condition in the Special Cell. There are various agencies that function like a team when it comes to detecting and neutralising terrorist threats; the Delhi Police will continue to be a part of these initiatives in order to keep the Capital secure from terror.

Do you think Delhi is as secure for women as you would want it to be?While crimes against women do take place in the city, there are countless women citizens, employed in various walks of life, who leave their workplaces late at night, visit nightspots undeterred and commute on public transportation systems due to their confidence in the police force — something that they continue to do on a daily basis. Sadly, no statistics on those who have confidence in the police are available.